Decode Politics: Journey of a vote — how EVMs, postal ballots make their way to voters and back

What are postal ballots, and where does the EVM journey start?

Service voters, absentee voters (those above 80 years, those with benchmark disabilities or now Covid-19-infected or suspected patients), voters on election duty, and electors under preventive detention are entitled to vote via postal ballot. After filling out the relevant forms, they are sent postal ballots by the Returning Officer (RO) via post or in case of voters on election duty, visit a facilitation centre.

For EVMs, after the first-level checks and randomisation exercises are completed, the machines are handed over to the ROs under armed police escort, as per the EC’s latest manual issued in August. The EVMs have to be stored in air-conditioned strong rooms in the presence of representatives of political parties. The EVMs are kept in these strong rooms till polling day.

Where are EVMs stored after votes are cast?

In the case of multi-phase elections or state elections clubbed together, the dates of polling and counting can almost be a month apart. In the recent elections to five states, Mizoram was the first to go to the polls on November 7 along with Chhattisgarh in the first phase. The second phase of voting in Chhattisgarh was held on November 17 along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan voted on November 25, and Telangana will vote on November 30. The counting of votes will happen on December 3.

After voting is over, EVMs and VVPATs (voter-verifiable paper audit trails) are escorted back to collection or reception centres where they are again stored in strong rooms.

As per the EC manual, all candidates have to be informed of this and are allowed to send their representatives to oversee the security arrangements.

What is the procedure for postal ballots, absentee voters?

For postal ballots, as per the EC’s instructions on October 31, the facilitation centre in-charge has to open the drop box at the end of each day in the presence of representatives of parties and candidates. The number of ballots has to be written down in a form, Format 1, and the ballots have to be placed in a large envelope or cotton bag for each constituency. This bag has to then be sent to the RO along with Format 1 at the end of each day of voting. All these bags have to be “under custody” of the RO, who is supposed to keep these in a “special strong room”.

For absentee voters, the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visit the homes of the electors to hand over Form 12D, which is their ballot, and then return within five days of notification of the election to collect the filled-in form. The BLOs are required to submit the forms to the ROs daily. For absentee voters who are part of the essential services, special postal voting centres are set up where voting is conducted for three consecutive days before polling day in the constituency. At the end of each day, the packets of postal ballots are to be sent to the RO.

The EC instructs that ROs have a strong room for postal ballots, and in case votes have to be counted in any place other than the RO’s headquarters, the postal ballots have to be transferred to another strong room at the counting centre a day before counting.

“For this purpose, the RO shall inform in writing to the candidates the time at which this will be done. The strong room for postal ballots shall be opened in the presence of the candidates or their representatives present. All postal ballots will then be kept in a large steel box which will be sealed in the presence of candidates and their representatives. This box will then be carried under guard of armed CPF to the strong room for postal ballots at the counting centre,” the EC guidelines state.